My Shijie Seems Intent on Destroying the World – Chapter 31
by Little PandaQuestioning the Heart
If I Want It, Will You Give It?
Outside the window, the night deepened. No stars, no moon tonight—only the steady murmur of wind.
Inside, the charcoal burned warm. Qi Zhi slumped softly against the table edge, chin resting on the wood, toying with her own fingers in front of a candle flame, as though practicing hand seals.
Back when she was still on Mount Qiongju, she used to hide in corners where no one would notice her, secretly memorizing a few simple hand seal gestures.
But her spiritual root was damaged so severely that she could barely accumulate spiritual power, let alone channel it.
Even the most basic techniques were, for her, as difficult as ascending the heavens.
All these years, the only thing she could do to barely prove she knew a little something about cultivation was fussing with flowers and plants.
The Master of Mount Han, the Force of Vitality… could they truly repair her spiritual root?
And if they could, what about Mu Qingshi’s?
Her spiritual root was ruined too—perhaps it also needed repairing.
Seen that way, had her agreement to bring her along to Mount Han been merely a convenient afterthought?
Or was there another possibility—
Mu Qingshi was no different from the Daoist Venerable, bringing her all the way to Mount Han only to use her as an alchemical primer to fix her own spiritual root?
At that thought, Qi Zhi suddenly shivered.
Surely not. It shouldn’t come to that.
If she only needed a medicinal primer, why not just capture her and take her straight to Mount Han? Why bother slowly coaxing her along the way, keeping her happy?
Besides, Mu Qingshi had single-handedly slaughtered an entire mountain of people.
With that kind of power, whether her spiritual root was truly ruined or not was honestly hard to say!
All this wild overthinking—mostly she was just too idle! If she’d just crawl into bed and sleep a bit more, she wouldn’t scare herself with so many thoughts!
But tell her to sleep, and she couldn’t quite drift off.
Ling Qiansu had found the ear-rabbit’s trail during the day, and she was still waiting for news.
Qi Zhi drew a long, deep breath at the thought, then slowly let it out.
Finally, she shifted position, tucking her hands back, propping her chin. Unconsciously, she glanced toward the window.
The half-open window shutters were veiled in soft white spiritual light—not a wisp of cold wind could slip through.
Mu Qingshi sat by the window, leaning against the sill, one hand cradling her cheek, her gaze fixed quietly on some point outside, her thoughts drifting to who knew where.
A sleeve slipped down a fraction, revealing a pale wrist.
The candle’s warm glow wove together with that touch of soft white from outside, falling across her profile.
Tracing her brow bone, her eyelashes, the bridge of her nose, and those lips pressed ever so slightly together…
A few motes of dust drifted in the light, sinking and floating slowly, like stars, or like snow.
Qi Zhi tilted her head, caught herself staring.
She didn’t know how long it had been when Mu Qingshi suddenly turned to look at her, her gaze so faint that no emotion could be discerned.
Qi Zhi snapped back, pressed her lips together, looked away, and blinked rapidly at the candle flame in front of her.
A little awkward…
Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long. Outside the window came the rush of wind that heralded Ling Qiansu’s return by sword flight.
Qi Zhi hurried to her feet and went to meet her at the door.
The sword light dispersed. Ling Qiansu landed steadily, her eyes full of worry as she looked at Qi Zhi. Before anyone could ask, she bowed in apology.
The night outside was still and cold. Qi Zhi brought her into the room.
Ling Qiansu sat at the table, both hands gripping the long sword resting across her lap, her lashes lowered, her lips pressed into a tight line.
She was silent for a long while before she said in a low voice, “I didn’t manage to get a Mingyue Token…”
Qi Zhi: “Lost track of it?”
Ling Qiansu: “N-not exactly…”
Qi Zhi: “Then…”
Ling Qiansu bit her lip and quietly explained what had happened.
The ear-rabbit carried a trace of her spiritual power on it—naturally, it couldn’t escape her tracking.
The creature flew with extreme speed. In less than a single day, ten jade tokens had been dropped across seven towns.
She had followed its spiritual trail in secret the entire way, not daring to waste a moment, carefully marking all ten locations.
In the end, she withdrew the wisp of spiritual power clinging to the ear-rabbit and hurried toward the nearest marker.
Qi Zhi: “And then?”
Ling Qiansu: “And then…”
She said she’d tried to buy one from people, only to discover she couldn’t possibly afford it.
Wealthy families who obtained a token intended to go themselves. Even when she explained her purpose, she couldn’t offer a high enough price—they took her for a fraud and naturally refused to sell.
Common folk who obtained a token, even if they weren’t going themselves, wanted to sell to the rich.
This Mingyue Banquet, though its nature as immortal or demonic was anyone’s guess, had existed in Yun Province for over two hundred years, entirely unmolested.
Some who attended never returned, but others came back haunted, unable to forget the experience for a long, long time.
Across the twelve cities of Yun Province, how many people yearned for it?
Who wouldn’t know how precious a Mingyue Token could be?
The great figures who had once offered fortunes for these tokens—any one of them had named a price enough for an ordinary commoner to establish a household and live out the rest of their days in comfort.
The bits of loose silver she’d brought from the mountain weren’t even enough to buy a corner of one token.
Ling Qiansu was stubborn, though. She hit walls at four places in succession, until the sky grew dark and it was no longer appropriate to bother anyone. Only then did she return, dejected.
Hearing this, Qi Zhi comforted her softly, “It’s fine, it’s fine! There are still six more places! We can try again tomorrow!”
“Why keep trying?”
With a laugh like the tinkling of a bell, a small bird with a white head and grey back flew in through the window.
A flash of spiritual light—and she transformed into the shape of a young girl.
She leaned against the table, slapped her palm down on the surface, and there were three jade tokens.
Ling Qiansu’s eyes went wide.
Ah Yun: “Told you nobody would sell. Just grab them!”
Ling Qiansu froze for a moment, then frowned. “But these items are worth a fortune—they could change an ordinary person’s entire life…”
Ah Yun: “Isn’t that just you being naive?”
Ling Qiansu: “…”
“If Mingyue Villa really has something wrong with it, then whoever I’m taking from is someone I’m saving. They should be thanking me.” Ah Yun poured herself a cup of cold water, tilted her head back, and drained it. Then she gave a light scoff, looking at Ling Qiansu. “Besides, do you know how terrifying human greed can get?”
Ling Qiansu opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end only shook her head.
“‘These items are worth a fortune—they could change an ordinary person’s entire life.'” Ah Yun repeated Ling Qiansu’s words, then curved her brows into a smile. “Today, when the ear-rabbit was dropping tokens, did it drop any into ordinary households?”
Ling Qiansu: “It did.”
Ah Yun asked again: “And in all your searching along the way, did you hear of any ordinary household that turned their life around thanks to one of these tokens?”
Ling Qiansu: “…I did not.”
Ah Yun: “There you go, then.”
Ling Qiansu couldn’t quite process it, her gaze going slightly blank.
Mu Qingshi had been silent for a long while. Only now did she close her eyes and sigh softly. “If they are ordinary people, how could they hold onto such windfall fortune?”
“When someone lacks the strength to protect a treasure, others will always find a thousand reasons and methods to take it away easily.” Ah Yun spoke leisurely, without a trace of heaviness in her voice—only matter-of-fact certainty. “Losing the thing is the small part. There are plenty who lost their lives over it.”
“What’s that human saying again?” She thought for a moment, held up one finger, and grinned radiantly. “An ordinary person cherishing jade invites disaster!1“
Ah Yun said she’d chased the rabbit the whole way. It dropped one, she picked up one.
Calling it stealing—well, it wasn’t really stealing.
The people never even knew they’d had it, so they’d be spared the disappointment of losing it.
Ling Qiansu listened, then found herself at a loss for words, staring at the three jade tokens on the table, deep in thought.
Qi Zhi pressed her lips together, resting her chin in both hands, and looked up at Mu Qingshi.
Cherishing jade invites disaster…
It was the first time she’d heard such a saying.
So her own poor fortune all these years—was that also a kind of “cherishing jade invites disaster”?
When you hold something precious in your hands but lack the strength to protect it, others will always find a thousand reasons and methods to take it away.
Then what about Mu Qingshi—her Second Senior Sister—that demon who had broken the seal of the demon sword and massacred Tiandao Sect?
Was she the power that protected her, or yet another of those “others”?
No matter how much time passed, Qi Zhi still couldn’t quite figure it out.
Ling Qiansu, however, came to terms with it first. She picked up one of the jade tokens and, together with Ah Yun, rose and returned to the room next door.
—Might as well just sleep!
Qi Zhi thought, climbing into bed, rolling to the side, and burrowing into the covers against the wall.
As if by habit, she said softly, “shijie, rest early!”
“Mm.” Mu Qingshi replied, extinguishing the candle for her, rising to close the window, and withdrawing the spiritual light.
The little girl had no idea where all her drowsiness came from—give her a bed and she’d fall peacefully asleep in no time.
Mu Qingshi walked to the bedside and sat down, her footsteps so light they made no sound at all.
In the stillness, Qi Zhi murmured something in her sleep.
Muffled and indistinct, impossible to make out.
Mu Qingshi paused, leaned down, brought her ear close, and waited with focused attention for a long while.
At last she caught it—
“shijie…”
“Whatever I have… that you want…”
Mu Qingshi couldn’t help but laugh softly, her fingertips brushing the hair at the girl’s temple.
“If I want it, will you give it?”
Qi Zhi rolled over, her nose making some small drowsy sound.
Like the faintest assent.
To obtain the Mingyue Token, Ling Qiansu had staked out diligently for over ten days.
Now that she finally had them, she set out alone at first light the next morning for the barren mountain east of the city, hoping to test whether the token would let her penetrate the grounds early.
But the token was clearly no key. Ling Qiansu still found no trace of the legendary Mingyue Villa.
The Liang family had said the Mingyue Banquet was always held on the night of the full moon, and the Mingyue Tokens generally appeared about half a month in advance.
“So even with a token, we still have to wait half a month?”
“That’s right!” one lady confirmed, then suddenly recalled something. “Oh, by the way—they say three days before the banquet, if spiritual runes flow across the token, it’s genuine. Only with a genuine token can you use those runes to enter Mingyue Villa.”
“There are fakes?” Ling Qiansu was astonished.
“Oh, plenty!” another lady nearby chimed in, her face twisting with distaste. “Our master alone has collected four fakes!”
Ah Yun couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Ling Qiansu frowned at the token in her hand, a flicker of bewilderment in her eyes.
She’d examined the thing inside and out several times already and hadn’t sensed the slightest trace of spiritual power—could there really be spiritual runes hidden within that she couldn’t detect?
“Oh, don’t worry!” Ah Yun said loudly. “I watched it drop. Can’t be fake!”
Ling Qiansu nodded, gripping the token, and walked to the doorway, gazing up at the grey, overcast sky.
In the courtyard, the bare branches of an old tree swayed gently.
As days passed and the sun rose and the moon set, the spring wind coaxed open a few tender buds on the treetops.
A swallow glided past, its long tail trailing, cutting a swath of sky blue.
The jade token held tightly in her fingertips slowly surfaced with flowing spiritual runes.
Across the runes, a line of small characters appeared and faded.
“Second month, fifteenth day, Mingyue Banquet opens.” Qi Zhi read it out carefully.
Ling Qiansu stared at the token, her eyes full of wonder.
Qi Zhi: “What is it?”
Ling Qiansu: “The spiritual power on this token is truly free of any demonic taint—clean and gentle. Just looking at it puts one’s heart at ease.”
“Isn’t that perfectly normal?” Ah Yun cracked open a peanut and spoke loudly. “If it obviously reeked of demonic energy, how could so many cultivators keep a straight face and let this already-controversial villa exist for so many years?”
Ling Qiansu shook her head. “That’s not what concerns me.”
Ah Yun: “Then what?”
Ling Qiansu fell silent a moment, her brow creasing slightly. “I feel that the spiritual aura on this token… seems somehow familiar…”
Mu Qingshi: “You’ve encountered this kind of spiritual aura before, Miss Ling?”
Qi Zhi tilted her head toward Ling Qiansu.
Ling Qiansu shook her head, saying she wasn’t entirely sure.
Since the war between gods and demons five hundred years ago, Guizhen Sect had lived in seclusion for a long time. She’d forgotten most of the people she’d once met.
But some people, once seen, were impossible to forget.
She said this, then added, “Just like Miss Mu!”
Qi Zhi: “…”
Yes, yes, just like Mu Qingshi!
She couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Mu Qingshi, thinking to herself—anyone who’d seen Mu Qingshi wielding the demon sword would surely remember it to their dying day.
The next second, Mu Qingshi looked over at her with those faint eyes, and she quickly looked away.
“Well, go on then—who do you think the token belongs to?” Ah Yun pressed impatiently.
Ling Qiansu pondered, gazing at the token in her hand. She studied it once more, then drew a long, deep breath and spoke softly.
“If I’m not mistaken…”
“The master of Mingyue Villa must have a significant connection to Mount Han.”
The author has something to say:
Qi Zhi: Mount Han?!
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